Four-year-old Aubriana Thompson tends to ricochet around her bedroom, a somersaulting blur in a purple T-shirt.

She shows off her sticker collection. She tosses a Dora the Explorer doll by the window overlooking Southeast 14th Street. During a recent visit, she crawled between the visitors’ legs.

But even human pinballs need a good night’s rest.

Aubriana has almost outgrown the convertible crib-daybed she has slept in since she was a baby. The wooden slats are wobbly. The hinges are falling off, and the mattress slants so much she often rolls onto the floor in her sleep.

“She’s as tall as a 6- or 7-year-old, so she doesn’t enjoy sleeping there. She usually migrates to the couch or into bed with me,” her mother, Danielle Thompson, said.

So Thompson has turned to Embrace Iowa, The Des Moines Register-sponsored program that helps Iowans pay for basics such as new appliances, car repairs or, in this case, a new twin bed. She has applied for $430 to cover the costs of a new frame and mattress.

The Register’s readers contributed almost $180,000 to Embrace Iowa in 2011-12. The program divvied up the money into 521 grants for clothing, medical expenses, furniture, rent, home repairs and more. Monetary gifts are not intended to be used for Christmas gifts or food.

Thompson earned a psychology degree from Grand View University in August and has been looking for a job ever since. She found one two weeks ago, as a customer service representative for a payment-processing center, but her student-loan repayments will start to kick in next month. She just can’t afford a new bed right now, so she’s asking for help.

“That’s just one of the basic necessities for every person,” she said. “Sleep is really important for kids’ learning, and a bed would be even more special for Aubriana because it’s something just for her.”

Thompson told Aubriana about the grant application and then told a reporter what hardly needed saying.